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Views from the Choir Loft

Trimmings on Advent

Veronica Brandt · November 30, 2013

Advent Wreath HE FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT marks an increase in tempo in most families. The shops are well into the swing of the silly season, the calendar is littered with end of year parties and concerts and Christmas cards begin to appear.

Once, or so I’m told, there were many popular feast days kept all around the year. Now it seems that they all telescope into the month of December. We have St Nicholas’ Day on the 6th, the Immaculate Conception on the 8th, St Lucy on the 13th, each with amazing possibilities for special food and minor rituals. Then there are Advent calendars, Jesse Trees and nativity scenes to consider.

Fisheaters gives a good Advent Overview, but like all customs it is worth bearing in mind that many of these are trimmings. These are not the essentials. There is a lot of latitude for finding our own family’s balance at this time of year.

The photo is our advent wreath for this year. Instead of our usual conglomeration of greenery from the garden we have a synthetic substitute. Much more compact but lacks the fun of dried leaves catching on fire during the family rosary. If this one burns it will smell awful.

How do you keep Advent?

(Happy St Andrew’s Day too!)

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Veronica Brandt

Veronica Brandt holds a Bachelor Degree in Electrical Engineering. She lives near Sydney, Australia, with her husband and six children.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

Quick Thoughts

    “Glory To God” • (For Choir + Congregation)
    I wish to thank everyone for the nice comments I received vis-à-vis my Glory To God setting for Choir & Congregation. A gentleman with a musical doctorate from Indiana University wrote: “Love this setting so much. And I will pray, as you asked, for your return to composition more fully. You are very very good.” A female choir director wrote: “I love your harmonizations, your musicality, and the wonderful interplay you have with dissonance and consonance in your music. So fun to listen to, and great for intellect, heart, and soul!” A young woman from California wrote: “Thank you for releasing your new Glory To God in honor of Saint Noel Chabanel. I'm enjoying reading through the various parts and listening to your recordings.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    William Byrd • “Mass for Five Voices”
    Our volunteer choir is learning the “Sanctus” from William Byrd’s Mass for Five Voices. You can hear a short excerpt (recorded last Sunday) but please ignore the sound of babies crying: Mp3 recording. We still have work to do—but we’re on the right track. Once we have some of the tuning issues fixed, I desire to use it as an example proving volunteers can sing complicated polyphony.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Baptism” • A Unique Hymn
    Father Christopher Phillips is the founding Pastor of Our Lady of the Atonement Catholic Church. One of his hymns is unique and (in my humble opinion) quite beautiful. His hymn is basically a prayer to the Holy Trinity but also speaks of Baptism and the Holy Eucharist. It would be an ideal Communion hymn on Trinity Sunday or the feast of the Baptism of the Lord. You can hear live recording from last Sunday by clicking here.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“I have, on the other hand, retained several more or less traditional tunes, absolutely valueless and without merit from a musical point of view, but which seem to have become a necessity if a book is to appeal—as I hope this one will—to the varied needs of various churches.”

— A. Edmonds Tozer (1905)

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